It is a deciduoustree growing to 30-metre (98 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 1-metre (3 ft 3 in) in diameter. The leaves are alternate to subopposite in arrangement, oval, 7–8-centimetre (2.8–3.1 in) long and 4.5–10-centimetre (1.8–3.9 in) broad with a 1–3-centimetre (0.39–1.18 in) petiole. The fruit is drupe-like, 2–4.5-centimetre (0.79–1.77 in) long and 1.2–2.5-centimetre (0.47–0.98 in) broad, blackish, with five longitudinal ridges.[1]

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This tree yields smallish, ribbed and nut-like fruits which are picked when still green and then pickled, boiled with a little added sugar in their own syrup or used in preserves. The seed of the fruit, which has an elliptical shape, is an abrasive seed enveloped by a fleshy and firm pulp. It is regarded as a universal panacea in Ayurveda and in the Traditional Tibetan medicine.

Medium to large deciduous tree up to 30 m. Leaves are elliptic-oblong, acute tip, cordate at the base, margins entire, glabrous above with a yellowish pubescence below. Flowers monoecious, dull white to yellow, strong unpleasant odour, borne in terminal spikes or short panicles. Fruits glabrous, ellipsoid to ovoid drupes, yellow to orange brown in colour, single angled stone. Found in deciduous forests of Indian subcontinent, dry slopes up to 900 meters in elevation[3]

Fruit; seven types are recognized (i.e. vijaya, rohini, putana, amrita, abhaya, jivanti and chetaki), based on the region the fruit is harvested, as well as the colour and shape of the fruit. Generally speaking, the vijaya variety is preferred, which is traditionally grown in the Vindhya mountain range of central India, and has a roundish as opposed to a more angular shape[3]